As the Crow Flies
by Aurora Ciel
Summary: Brief glimpses into Jax and Tara's relationship in high school, from how they began to how they ended the first time around. Requests accepted. Jax/Tara.
1. 1994

**Hey all, I'm new to writing **_**Sons of Anarchy**_** but I'm not in any way new to writing. I just finished watching the first two seasons and the beginning of the third and I fell in love with Jax Teller. He's such a great father and son and I love him with Tara. I wish I could be Jax's Old Lady!**

**Anyway, I was severely disappointed by the lack of SOA fic here so I decided to put something up myself. I've always been intrigued by Jax and Tara's early days, so this is a small series featuring how they began and how they ended the first time.**

**The ages are just estimates based on Jax's birth year and my assumption that Jax and Tara are the same age. I've tried to keep everything as canon as possible, so please let me know if you think I've missed anything important or gotten any information wrong!**

**Disclaimer: I would love to own my own hot biker vigilante, but sadly I own nothing.**

* * *

**AS THE CROW FLIES**

**1994 – 15**

The stars, fifteen year old Tara Knowles couldn't help but notice, seemed a little brighter tonight. They popped out of the black painted sky like sparkling diamonds. It made her feel like something special was going to happen tonight.

But maybe that was just the weed talking.

Taking one last toke, she felt her lungs grow heavy before letting out the thick smoke and flicking her roach off into a corner of the room she was sitting in. The party tonight was held in a house under construction, the siding wasn't even up yet, giving Tara a pretty good view of outside and above.

She leaned her head back against the drywall she was leaning against, her arms slung across her knees. Her skin tingled and her head buzzed. What she wouldn't do for a beer.

As if reading her mind, Donna's footsteps could be heard and soon the girl was sliding down the wall to sit next to her friend. She handed Tara a red cup, "Snagged this for you. Keg's almost tapped."

"Thanks," Tara smiled at her friend, knocking back nearly half the beer in her cup. They sat silently for a moment before Donna took a long pull of her drink and turned to watch the two boys standing some twenty feet away from them near a roaring bonfire.

She licked the beer off her upper lip, "Jax Teller has been staring at you all night."

Tara snorted, "Jax Teller stares at anything with a poon."

"That's not what Opie's been telling me," Donna insisted, shaking her head.

Tara nudged her shoulder, "Pillow talk?"

"Something like that," Donna couldn't help but grin. After a moment she added, "Ope says Jax thinks you're real smart. He likes that."

"We're chem partners. I let him cheat off me sometimes; he's just looking to get into my pants," Tara commented, taking another sip of her beer. But while she kept objecting to Jax Teller's interest in her, she found she couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

"Mhmm, okay let's go," Donna laughed, standing up and pulling Tara with her.

"Go? Where? What are you—"

"Hey, Opie!" Donna called out suddenly, grabbing the boys' attention. Opie gave his girlfriend a goofy crooked smile when she waved flirtatiously. Jax's eyes stayed on Tara and she tried not to notice.

Donna dragged her friend over to them, nodding to Jax before wrapping her arms around Opie's waist. Tara grit her teeth as she moved to stand next to Jax, knowing exactly how this was going to be played out. She rubbed her bare arms, wishing she'd thought to wear more than just a thin cotton T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"You cold, Tara?" Opie asked and she didn't like the way he was looking at Jax when he said it. Donna smirked as she leaned her face into Opie's broad chest. Jax shuffled his feet a bit before turning to Tara.

"You wanna wear my sweatshirt? It probably doesn't smell very good but it's warm." His eyes twinkled in the firelight and Tara found herself lost in the clear blueness of them. Before she knew it, she was smiling shyly and nodding, accepting the worn sweatshirt from him.

It _was_ very warm, but Jax was dead wrong about the smell. It smelled of motor oil and pine trees and a hint of musk and…Jax. Tara resisted the urge to pull it over her nose again to breathe in the scent as she settled the large sweatshirt over her small body.

"Looks good on you," Opie suggested with a wink. Tara flushed, her eyes immediately finding Jax's. He gave her a small half smile before turning to Opie, "You know, Ope, I'm pretty sure the girls have never been to the quarry at night before."

Donna turned in Opie's arms as her face lit up, "I thought they closed that place down…"

"They did, but there's still enough water in there for some moonlight swimming…if you girls are interested, that is."

"We sure as hell are! Right, Tare?" Everyone turned to Tara, she clutched at the loose sleeves of Jax's sweatshirt in her palms.

She nodded, glancing at Jax briefly before answering, "Definitely interested."

* * *

For the first time in years, Tara was actually looking forward to school. She woke before her alarm went off, took extra time in the shower, spent nearly half an hour picking out the perfect outfit for the day. She didn't have chemistry with Jax until fifth period, and even that seemed like years away.

Before she knew it, though, the fourth period bell was ringing and Tara found herself rushing out of her Honors English class to head to her locker. Not wanting to seem too eager, she waited a few minutes at her locker, pretending to be looking through one of her notebooks before she casually walked into her chemistry class.

She was actually surprised to see Jax already sitting at their lab table. Ninety per cent of the time he was strutting into class late; he'd gotten more detentions for one class than most students did in their entire school year.

His face lit up when he saw her, watching as she slid onto the stool next to him and letting her books drop onto the counter. "Hey," he said quietly.

Tara flushed, "Hey yourself."

"Crazy night, last night, huh?"

She laughed, tucking her dark hair behind her ears as she pulled out her notebook. "Yeah really. That was the first time I'd ever gone swimming in the quarry."

"Really? Ope and I love going there at night. Nothing like it."

Tara nodded as their teacher, Mrs. Roberts, quieted the class, going up to the chalkboard to begin writing the day's notes. She could feel Jax watching her as she wrote down the formulas from the board.

When Jax suddenly leaned over, pressing his lips to her ear, and whispered, "Not gonna lie, you've got one hell of a back dive. I never knew you were so flexible, Knowles," Tara pressed too hard on her pencil and snapped the lead. Flushing, she turned to gape at Jax's satisfied smirk before getting up to sharpen her pencil.

He didn't say anything else to her while they continued taking notes, and when they broke into pairings to perform the day's experiment, all he said to her had to do with measurements or chemicals.

Tara couldn't help but wonder if his silence had to do with her reactions to his attempts. As she poured some sodium chloride into a beaker, keeping her eyes trained on the glass in front of her, she shyly noted, "You're a pretty strong swimmer yourself, Teller. And those summers working in your dad's shop have definitely paid off."

Jax laughed, "Oh so you were checking me out last night?"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, smiling slyly, "I might have noticed a few things…"

"Really?" His eyes gleamed as he moved closer, "Well let me just say that I'm glad you're not that scrawny twelve year old I used to play kickball with anymore."

To prove his point, he poked at her waist just above her hips. Tara blushed as she realized he was telling her he liked her curves she'd developed over the past few years. Unfortunately, he'd also found an extremely ticklish spot for her, causing her to let out an embarrassing squeak.

Jax's eyebrows rose in mischief, "Tara Knowles…are you ticklish?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted, trying to hide her smile as she set the container she was pouring with down. Jax reached for her, squeezing her sides and she shrieked, flinging her arms out to brace herself.

Instead of grabbing the table, Tara's hands collided with the row of glass beakers and containers on their lab table, sending them all crashing to the floor.

At the resounding crash, the entire class turned and "ooed" at the damage. Mrs. Roberts rushed over to see what had happened.

"I-I'm sorry, it was an accident," Tara insisted.

Mrs. Roberts clicked her tongue, "This class is not a joke Tara, you need to be careful and responsible. These beakers are expensive and they came out of the school's budget. You're going to have to pay for the replacements."

Tara's eyes widened and she stepped forward, "I can't afford to pay for these, Mrs. Roberts! My dad…" She glanced around, lowering her voice, "You know my dad won't help me. I don't have that kind of money."

"Well I'm afraid I'll have to take it up with Principle Crawford then."

"What'll happen to Tara?" Jax asked, moving to Tara's side.

Mrs. Roberts eyed him for a moment before sighing, "If Tara refuses to pay for the replacements, she'll get a lot of detention. Maybe even suspension."

Tara gasped, gripping at the table to support herself. Jax chewed the side of his lip as he eyed her before turning back to Mrs. Roberts, "I'll pay for them."

"Jax, you don't—"

"It was my fault," he continued, keeping his eyes on their teacher. "I shouldn't have been messing around, I'll be more careful from now on."

Mrs. Roberts, who obviously had reservations about Jax, eyed him for a moment. "Call my mom at the shop and tell her that I told you to send her the bill. She'll take care of it, if not, you can suspend _me_."

"Very well," the woman finally replied, sweeping her gaze over to Tara once before she walked away. "Clean this up, Jackson."

Tara watched silently as Jax bent down and began gathering all the glass together. He reached to grab a half of a broken beaker and winced when it dug into his palm. He cursed loudly, dropping the rest of the glass and falling back onto his ass, watching the blood bubble up in his hand.

"Jesus Christ, Jax!" Tara grabbed some paper toweling and pressed it to his hand. "Are you alright?"

He nodded before getting up, "I gotta go get this wrapped up. Ask Mrs. Roberts to have one of the janitors to help you clean this up, I don't want you getting cut, too.

She nodded, staring at his back as he made his way to the front of the classroom. Biting her lip, Tara slumped into a stool and leaned her chin in her hand.

"I didn't even get a chance to thank him."

* * *

By the end of the day, Tara was ready to go home and pass out on her bed. The past twenty-four hours had been quite the emotional rollercoaster. She said goodbye to her friends and started walking towards the buses when she heard someone call out to her.

Turning around, she saw Jax jogging to catch up with her. "How's the hand?" she asked, eyeing the white gauze wrapped around it.

Jax winked, "Nothing I can't handle. Think it makes me look tough?"

Tara laughed, rolling her eyes when Jax posed with his injured hand under his chin. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Please, I've had way worse."

Suddenly the mood changed, Tara swallowed heavily and stepped closer to him. "Listen, about what you did for me, stepping in like that, I just…thanks."

Jax's eyes moved back and forth between hers as he smiled down at her. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help."

"I'll repay you, I swear…somehow," she jokingly bit the side of her lip.

Jax laughed, "Tell you what, how 'bout you go with me to TJ Bosley's party on Friday?"

Tara stared up at him. It was obvious Jax was into her, at least a little. She'd only had one boyfriend before, and she'd been thirteen and broke up with him after a month when he tried to feel under her bra. She may have grown up without a mother but Tara Knowles was no easy lay.

Yet, the way Jax looked at her, she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't like that with him. She liked the way his sweatshirt felt around her, the way he could make her laugh, the way he rushed to her defense.

While his father's motorcycle club made her a little uneasy, Tara suddenly found she didn't mind spending time with the son of the King of SAMCRO.

"Yeah," she grinned up at him, "okay."

* * *

**I kind of wish they'd shown flashbacks of Jax and Tara as kids, but I know that wouldn't really fit in the show. I bet Jax was a major hottie high school. Anyway, here's the first installment. There are probably going to be around 5 or 6, at least from what I've got planned so far. I'm also open to requests if there's a scene or time you'd like to see from them.**

**I'd love to know what you thought! Next up: Jax turns sixteen and becomes an official member of SAMCRO. What will this mean for his relationship with Tara?**


	2. 1994, part 2

**So I know I said the next installment would be when Jax turned sixteen, but then I got a request to show how he was as a Prospect and I couldn't resist.**

**This chapter is for Just da Girl, who asked for it. I kind of ventured from the request but it is in there if you look hard enough. Hope you like it!**

* * *

**1994 – 15**

"Hey Tara, how are you?"

Tara glanced up from the book she was reading to see David Hale, starting quarterback for the Varsity team at their high school. She set her book down on the picnic table she was sitting at in the school's quad and smiled up at him.

"Fine thanks." She noted the large duffle bag in his hand, "Going to practice?"

David nodded. "I was just heading down to the locker room when I saw you. Do you need a ride or something?"

"Oh no, you have practice, you can't miss that—"

"It's no problem, really," David insisted. "I can tell Coach that I'll be fifteen minutes late, he won't—"

"Actually she's got a ride Hale," a voice said from behind them. They both turned to see Jax making his way across the quad, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Tara tried to hide her smirk at Jax's jealous look but she just pushed her book back into her bag.

David frowned, "Do you even _have_ a license yet, Teller?"

"Opie's been driving us home for the past few weeks," Tara explained as she stood to meet Jax. Sure enough, Opie's beat up pickup rounded the corner of the school and parked in front of them. Donna waved from the passenger seat.

Jax smirked at David before swinging his arm around Tara's shoulders and leading them to the bed of the truck, helping her into the back before jumping in himself. David just scowled as the truck pulled away. Jax saluted the football player, adding a cocky wink before Tara slugged him.

"You didn't have to provoke him," she scolded, pulling her hair into one hand to keep it from flying all over the place.

As Opie reached back to open the window between the couples, Jax leaned back where he sat across from her. "I see the way he looks at you. He's always following you around like some lovesick puppy."

"Looks like you've got some competition," Opie teased, stopping at a red light.

"Please," Jax brushed that idea off, "he wishes."

Donna laughed, turning to look back at Jax. "Someone sounds a little jealous!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Tara said, finally stepping in. She reached for Jax's hand and couldn't help but grin when he winked at her.

Opie turned onto Tara's street and everyone grew quiet as he pulled up in front of her house. The curtains were all drawn closed and that day's newspaper was still lying on the driveway. A distant crash resounded from inside the house and Tara winced. She kept her eyes down but she could feel Jax's gaze on her.

"Tara, do you want to come over for a while?" Donna asked quickly, understanding in her eyes. Tara looked over at Opie; Jax and Donna both knew what her home life was like and she was sure Donna had filled in some of the blanks for her boyfriend, but she still didn't like the whole town knowing her father was an abusive drunk.

"I thought you had to babysit for the Carter's tonight."

"Oh yeah," Donna's shoulders sagged. Tara gave her friend a small smile to let her know she appreciated the effort.

Something passed between Opie and Jax, and just as Tara started to climb out of the truck bed, Jax grabbed her hand. "Why don't you have dinner at my place tonight, babe?"

Tara froze; she'd never been to Jax's before. Usually they hung out at school or parties or Opie's house or…well anywhere but either of their own homes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Jax nodded, gripping her hand even harder. "You can meet my mom, I'm sure she'll like having another girl around for dinner."

"You should bring Tara to the shop, too, Jax," Donna suggested with a teasing gleam in her eyes. "You can introduce her to the guys and show her all the _fun_ stuff prospects get to do."

Tara glanced down at Jax's new leather cut. In her mind she could picture the word _PROSPECT_ stitched into the back. Opie laughed, rubbing his girlfriend's shoulder as he headed towards the auto shop.

Jax scowled as he realized what Donna was getting at, "Aw, shit."

* * *

As the truck neared the Teller-Morrow Auto Shop, Tara found herself growing nervous. She hadn't realized until they were pulling into the lot that she was about to meet her boyfriend's mother, and anyone else in his world. This was going to be one of the most important days of their relationship.

Heart pounding, she allowed Jax to help her jump down from the back of the truck. They watched Opie and Donna drive away before Jax took her hand, leading her to a small room on the side of the shop.

"Come on," Jax said. "My mom's probably in the office."

Tara nodded, licking her lips and tentatively running her fingers through her hair to make herself look presentable.

Jax noticed her fixing herself up and smiled softly, squeezing her hand. "Relax, babe, she's going to love you."

He led her into the empty office, looking around. They set their backpacks down and Jax called out for his mother. He turned to Tara and shrugged, about to reach for her when the other door opened.

"Hey baby, how was school?" Gemma asked, looking down at some paperwork in her hands. She glanced up at him and froze when she noticed Tara standing beside her son.

"Oh," she closed the file and set it on the desk, "hello there."

"Ma, this is my girlfriend Tara," Jax introduced.

Tara smiled shyly and shook Gemma's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Teller."

"Oh please, call me Gemma," she insisted with a smile, winking at Jax. "Will you be joining us for dinner Tara?"

Jax nodded, "I'm gonna show her around."

"Dinner's at six!" Gemma called out behind them as Jax led Tara into the clubhouse. There were a few men shooting pool or hanging around the bar in the great room. Jax nodded to them and introduced Tara to a few of them but for the most part said nothing. Tara assumed he wasn't as close with these members.

"This is my room," Jax explained, pulling her behind him. The bedroom looked basically like a dorm room with a bathroom attached. It certainly smelled like one, too.

"This is where you live?" Tara asked.

He nodded, "We moved in to a few rooms here after my dad died. We're saving up to get a new house, but for now we're just crashing here. It's not that bad."

Tara walked around, taking in the piles of clothes on the floor and posters of scantily clad women hanging on the walls.

Jax laughed, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Er, yeah I'm not the cleanest guy…"

She held up an empty bag of chips, "Or the healthiest?"

"Very funny," Jax swiped the bag from her, tossing it behind his shoulder. Giving her a cocky smirk, he pulled her over to sit at the foot of his bed. "And this is the best part of my room."

"Oh really? This is what you wanted to show me? Your messy old bed?" she teased, grabbing a pillow and socking him in the stomach with it.

"Hey!" Jax's voice was muffled from behind the pillow. He tugged it out of her grasp and moved it behind them with the others. "My bed isn't messy…yet."

She squealed as his hands reached for her waist and squeezed, searching out the ticklish spots. Together they fell back onto the bed, laughing and rolling against the tangled blankets and pillows. Tara let out a loud laugh from the pit of her stomach and Jax rolled over her, moving his hands from her waist to rest on either side of her head. He smiled down at her, his long blonde hair falling over his eyes which twinkled with mischief.

Their mouths met in a rush of teeth and tongues. Jax wrapped an arm around Tara's waist and hoisted her further up the bed so her head rested against the pillows. His hand moved from her waist to tangle in her thick brown hair, rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

Tara parted her legs so he could rest between them, stretching one socked foot to rub against his calf. Their hands explored all over each other's bodies; while these explorations had only started recently, they were both very eager to continue them. Jax slid his hands over her stomach, rubbing the soft, warm skin before slipping underneath the cups of her bra. She let out a breathy moan and bit down on his lower lip. Her leg moved from Jax's calf to wrap around his waist, grinding against him.

Jax groaned and pressed his face into the pillow beside her head. He moved his lips down her neck and gave her nipples one last tug before sliding his hands out from underneath her top.

He gripped the hem of her shirt and lifted it up past her purple bra. As he pulled away to pull it off her completely, his bedroom door swung open.

"Hey Prospect, Clay wants you to—"

"Jesus, Bobby!" Jax rolled over to block Bobby's view of his nearly shirtless girlfriend. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

Bobby kept his eyes on the floor, obviously trying to hide his smile. "Sorry kid. This the pretty girlfriend I've heard so much about?"

Tara sat up and pulled her shirt down, running a hand through her hair. "Hi, I'm Tara."

"Bobby Elvis," he reached over and shook her hand once they were decent.

"Elvis?" Tara asked, looking over at Jax. "As in—"

"He's an impersonator," Jax explained, rolling his eyes at his father's old friend. "And apparently knows nothing about privacy."

Bobby chuckled, "Hey, I said I was sorry didn't I? Clay's looking for you, something about washing the bikes since it's such a nice day out."

Tara noticed his cheeky grin and curiously peered over at Jax, surprised to see him scowling up at the older Son. "Is this one of those Prospect things Donna was talking about?"

"Heard about that, did you?" Bobby barked out between laughs, "Why don't you come outside with us and watch the prospect earn his membership."

Jax shoved off the bed with a long face. "You guys suck!" he called out as he headed into the hall.

* * *

Being a prospect, Tara was learning, really meant being the guy who does everyone else's dirty work until they decided you'd done enough to become a full member. She and Bobby sat on a picnic table watching Jax make his way down the row of motorcycles, cleaning and waxing each of them.

After a while they were joined by some other members—Opie's dad Piney, a young man named Chibs and a man named Tig, to name a few. Bobby left to get a beer and returned with a bottle of Coke for Tara.

"So this is the famous Tara I've been hearing about all afternoon?" a gruff voice asked from behind them. Tara turned to see Clay Morrow approaching them. He tucked his sunglasses on top of his head and reached a large hand out to shake Tara's. His hand was rough and calloused, she couldn't help but notice. The hands of a man who'd put in a lot of work and effort his whole life.

Tara knew Clay was the President of the club, having taken over after the death of Jax's father. Did that mean that Jax would become the next President after Clay stepped down?

"You never told us your girl was such a looker, Jackie Boy," Chibs called out in his thick Scottish accent. Tara joined in the group's laughter as Chibs was immediately squirted in the face by the hose in Jax's hand. He sputtered before shaking his soaked head to get the water out of his eyes.

Clay barked out a laugh, "Make any more comments like that and you'd better sleep with one eye open tonight!"

Bobby chuckled and patted Tara on the head. She blushed under the scrutiny of the guys so she rushed to change the subject. "So what other stuff do prospects have to do?"

Bobby shrugged, "Wash the cars we work on, clean the clubhouse, sometimes they cook for us…pretty much they do anything nobody else wants to."

"Yeah it's been great, I think my favorite was cleaning up after your Fight Night the other week," Jax said with a sarcastic roll of the eyes as he walked over to Tara. He slid a hand onto her knee and smiled when she offered him her bottle of Coke. He took a long pull before turning to glare at the rest of the guys. "Don't you guys have anything better to do?"

The men all chuckled as they filed back into the shop, each calling out a goodbye to Tara. Bobby patted Tara on the head again before turning to Jax, "This girl's too good for you, Jackson Teller. Don't ever let her go."

Tara blushed as the large man followed the others into the shop. She could feel Jax's eyes on her and when she turned to face him, the intensity of his gaze nearly knocked her over. His jaw clenched and he reached a hand out to her. They both stared at their fingers as they interlocked and squeezed tightly.

"Come on," he said, pulling her in the direction of the clubhouse. Tara hopped off the edge of the table but stopped suddenly. Jax turned around and watched as she grabbed the cut he'd shrugged off before starting on the bikes.

As she walked over to him with it, he smiled and turned around, allowing her to help him shrug it on. Hand in hand, they headed into the clubhouse. Tara followed him inside, eyeing the jacket before leaning in and whispering, "Looks good on you."

"You think?" Jax asked. Tara smiled teasingly but then realized that he actually wanted to know her opinion. Licking her lips, she nodded earnestly.

"I do. It belongs there." He gave her a pleased smile.

"Alright Prospect," Tara said in a low voice, dragging Jax towards his bedroom. "Let's put you to work."

Jax smirked and closed the door behind him. "I've got all night, baby."

* * *

**Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! I'd love to hear more :)**


	3. 1994, part 3

**You guys make my day, seriously. I love hearing your wonderful feedback. You sure know how to boost a girl's ego ;)**

**In response to one review, I would like to point out that Chibs is indeed **_**Scottish**_**, as is the actor who plays him. He is referred to several times as a Scot or a Scotsman in episodes and often bickered with Cameron because he was an Irishman. In fact, the name Chibs comes from the Scottish term 'chib' itself, meaning 'knife' or 'scar'.**

**I have to say, it's weird writing about teenagers in the early nineties since when Jax and Tara were around fifteen or sixteen, I was only three years old. My knowledge of the styles in that time period is based on shows I used to watch as a kid, like Power Rangers and Saved by the Bell. Seriously.**

* * *

**1994 – 15 & 16**

"So is it true?"

Tara slammed her locker door shut, spinning the dial to lock it as she turned to Donna. "Is what true?"

Donna narrowed her eyes as if to say _'You know what I'm talking about.'_ The girls made their way down the hall to their first class. "I heard in the bathroom that for Jax's birthday he got inducted into the club."

Tara stopped walking, "He what?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

She shook her head, "We haven't talked since I left his place last night. Are you sure?"

Donna smiled, looking at something just past Tara's head. "See for yourself."

She turned around to see Jax strutting down the hall towards her, Opie in tow, sporting his new prospect cut. Jax smirked at her as he approached her, resting a hand to her hip and pressing a quick kiss to her mouth. Sure enough, there were several new patches sewn on the front and back of the jacket.

"So you're a Son now?" she asked, fingering the words _Redwood Original_ on his chest.

Jax's hand reached up to hold hers, tracing her palm with his fingers. "Just happened this morning. Clay told me it was the club's birthday present."

"Wow, that's great!" She grinned at him and drew him close, kissing him sweetly. "And, happy birthday!" Jax laughed as she kissed him again.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing his cheek against her head as he announced, "Okay well this is turning out to be one hell of a birthday!"

"Just wait till I give you my birthday present," Tara cooed in his ear. Jax felt his entire body heat up at her words but the moment was ruined by the teasing laughter of their friends.

"Get a room," Donna teased. The first bell rang, signaling they had five minutes until class started. She reached over for Tara, sarcastically apologizing to Jax for having to _peel_ his girlfriend away from him so they could get to their math class.

In the middle of class, Donna leaned over the aisle between their desks to poke Tara with the eraser of her pencil.

"Ow!" Tara hissed, rubbing her arm as she glared at her friend. "What was that for?"

"What's this secret birthday present you were talking about?" Donna whispered instead.

Tara felt her face heat up, her gaze immediately dropping to her notebook in front of her.

Donna gasped, "I _knew_ it! You're going to do it with Jax tonight, aren't you?"

She was quick to shush the girl, looking around to make sure no one heard her. Their teacher continued prattling on about the Pythagorean Theorem and the rest of the class was either half asleep or busy scribbling down notes. Once she was certain no one would be hearing their conversation, Tara leaned closer to Donna.

"We've done pretty much everything else and we've been together for a few months now," she explained.

"Hey you don't have to explain anything," Donna was quick to assure, "In fact, I'm surprised you guys hadn't done it sooner. You two are always all over each other like a pair of rabbits in springtime—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Tara interrupted, her face heating up again. "I just…I'm ready for this, you know? I'm ready for us to take this next step."

"Because you _love_ him?" Donna teased with a knowing smile.

Tara wrinkled her nose at her, "Of course I love him. And…I want to do this for him."

"Tara Knowles, giving Jackson Teller her virginity for his sixteenth birthday, who'da thought?"

"Actually, we're sorta both losing our virginities," she admitted.

"Shut _up_, you're telling me Jax Teller is a _virgin_?" Donna practically exclaimed. Tara clamped her hand on the girl's mouth again, glaring at her to hush her.

"Stop doing that!" she hissed. Their teacher turned around and cleared his throat at the girls, causing them to separate and look down at their notes. Once he was sure the girls had quieted down, he turned back to the chalkboard and continued solving an equation.

It hadn't even been five minutes before Tara felt a pencil eraser jab her in the arm again. Tara shot the deadliest glare she could in Donna's direction. "What now?"

"He's seriously never done the deed before?"

Tara sighed, putting down her pencil and shaking her head 'no.'

"He was always such a flirt, I guess I just figured…"

"He's definitely experienced," Tara acknowledged. "He's just never gone all the way before."

"Have you guys talked about doing it before?"

She waited for their teacher to finish answering a student's question before leaning back towards Donna. "We haven't really talked about it, we've just kind of…reached that point now. I'm sure he's ready."

Donna laughed, "Yeah really, what guy is gonna say no to losing his v-card?"

"Donna and Tara, is there something going on that is more important than my class?" their teacher asked suddenly, standing in front of their desks.

Tara kept her eyes down while Donna leaned back in her seat and said, "I'm sure Tara would think so."

* * *

By the end of the school day, Tara wasn't feeling nearly as confident as she had been that morning. She met Jax at his locker and greeted him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You okay, baby?" he asked as he led her to his new motorcycle.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She hoped he didn't notice how fake her voice sounded. If he did, he didn't say anything of it as he handed her a helmet. He swung his leg over the bike and scooted forward, holding a hand out for her to help her on. Tara's legs weren't quite long enough to swing over like his did, so she had to grip his shoulders for leverage and hoist herself up.

"Ready?"

"You do know how to drive this thing, right?" Jax laughed and revved the engine in response before telling Tara to hold on. She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tight when Jax kicked off and they took off out of the parking lot.

Jax slowed the bike to a stop on Tara's driveway, laughing when she stiffly removed her arms from his body. "I think you busted some ribs with that grip," he joked.

Tara rolled her eyes, letting him slide off the bike first and then helping her jump down. "Jeez that thing is huge," she commented as they headed into her empty house.

Jax pulled her by the waist so her back side grinded against his crotch. "Well thanks, babe," he whispered in her ear.

"You know what I meant," she said dryly, smacking him in the chest and pulling away. He looked around the house as he followed her into her bedroom.

"Your dad out?"

"Yeah, he's gone for the weekend. Some fishing trip or something."

"It's Wednesday," Jax scoffed.

"Eh," she shrugged, plopping down onto her bed. "It's probably horrible for me to say this, but I actually prefer it when he's gone. Life's just easier."

Jax looked at her for a moment before sitting down next to her. "Tara…"

"It's okay, really," she interrupted, putting a hand on his knee. She rubbed her hand up and down his leg, "Besides, that's not what we're here for."

"Oh really?" Jax smirked, sliding his hand to rest on the other side of her so they were pressed up against each other. "What are we here, in your bedroom for then?"

Instead of speaking, Tara pressed her lips to his, sliding her hands into his thick blonde hair. Jax was eager to respond, gripping her hips and pulling her to straddle his lap. His hands cupped her ass and pressed her body as close to his as possible.

They broke apart for air and Jax scooted back on the bed, taking Tara with him. He kissed down her neck and rubbed his hands up her back.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked breathlessly. She pulled away from his grasp, rising on to her knees and making sure his eyes were on hers as she gripped the hem of her shirt. Slowly, she tugged her t-shirt above her head, shaking her hair free once it settled on her shoulders. Jax's eyes had moved from hers to rest on her black lace bra.

His reaction making her brave, Tara pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and stuck out her chest as she ran a hand through her hair. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Oh, Jesus," he breathed, raking his eyes up and down her body. She giggled as he hastily shrugged out of his cut and tugged off his own flannel shirt. They sat there staring at each other for a brief moment before rushing together.

Jax rolled Tara underneath him, feeling the heat of her stomach pressed against his. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. Their mouths moved together passionately, their hands never stopped moving across each other's body.

Jax's hands slid beneath her to find the clasp of her bra and she lifted her torso to give him easier access. She lifted her arms to help her slide it away from her body and then quickly brought them around his back before the fabric had even hit the floor. Their heated chests rubbed together, Tara sighed at the feeling of her breasts pressed up against his firm body.

As his hands cupped her breasts, she moved her hands down to undo his belt and jeans. Jax pinched her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers as Tara worked his jeans as far down his legs as she could reach. They slid to his knees and he lifted onto his hands to kick them away.

He kissed his way up her jaw to her full lips, reaching down to undo her own jeans. Jax rose up onto his knees and pulled the denim over Tara's hips and down her slender legs. His eyes met hers teasingly. She ran a hand through her hair before reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him back on top of her.

Tara's legs gripped at his waist, he grinded his arousal into her center, the thin cotton of their underwear the only thing separating them. One of Jax's hands moved next to her head to brace himself while the other slipped underneath her black panties, feeling her warm wetness.

She let out a heavy breath as he pushed two fingers into her, rubbing the slick walls inside her. Her hands gripped at his back, her fingernails leaving long score marks across the smooth skin. Jax crooked his fingers inside her, smirking against her neck when she cried out and pressed her heels into his back.

Tara's head was spinning. She couldn't get enough of Jax. The feel of him, the heat of him, the taste of him. The nerves she'd felt earlier that day had completely disappeared, replaced by something else far more powerful. Her hand slid beneath his boxers and caressed his hot length. He groaned and pumped into her hand, pulsing in her teasing grip.

Ready to move things forward, she tugged at the waistband of his boxers, helped him push them down his legs. Jax sat across from her at the foot of the bed and swallowed heavily as his eyes dropped to her panties. Tara knew what came next. She took a deep breath and slid her panties down her legs and over her feet, tossing them on top of Jax's discarded boxers.

He reached for her but she stopped him before he could climb on top of her. "Do you have…"

"Oh, yeah." He reached for his jeans, pulling a small foil packet from his wallet.

Tara's eyebrows rose. "Were you expecting this?" she couldn't help but ask.

Jax smiled sheepishly, "I figured it wouldn't hurt to be prepared."

She laughed and lay back against the pillows. Jax eyed her naked form for a moment before looking at the packet in his hand. He tore at the foil and slid the condom over his hard length.

Slowly, he climbed over her, resting his hands on either side of her head. It only took their eyes meeting for everything to slow down. Jax rubbed his thumb across her cheek lovingly before moving his hand to lift her legs around his hips. His tip brushed against her and they both breathed in quickly. He slid two fingers in her again, making sure she was ready.

Tara pressed her locked ankles against his lower back. Their mouths met in a slow kiss, savoring this moment while they could. Jax positioned himself and with one last kiss, pushed into her.

It was unlike anything Tara had ever felt before. At first it was just stretching, then it was painful stretching, suddenly there was a sharp pinch, and then all that was left was the dull throbbing of new muscles being used.

She gasped at the intrusion, licking her lips and trying to maintain her breathing. "Are you okay?" Jax asked quietly, his face tucked into her neck.

She nodded against him, testing the muscles down there. The throbbing was still there but she could get past it. She would get past it for Jax. This was as much for him as it was for her.

Tentatively, he began to move. It took them a few tries, but soon enough they found a rhythm that worked. They rocked together; where he pushed, she pulled. She smiled up at him and pulled him down to meet her mouth with his. Their tongues danced together as the rest of their bodies did, moving in and out of each other.

Jax moved one hand down to massage at her breast again. He could feel her heart beating beneath it and pressed his hand down to feel it even better. Their hearts seemed to beat at the same time, following the rhythm of their bodies. He hit a place inside her and she cried out, throwing her head back in her pillows.

He was nearing the edge. Gripping her hips, he sped up his pace inside her hot, pliant body. A voice in the back of his mind wondered if he was being too rough with her, but by the way Tara was crying out and digging her nails into the back of his neck, he figured she didn't really mind.

Testing her new inner muscles, she clenched around his length, smiling to herself when he swore under his breath and pressed his forehead to her collarbone. Suddenly Jax stiffened and let out a low groan as he pumped into her one last time.

Tara sighed as his slick body collapsed on top of hers, welcoming the safety she felt from it. Jax breathed out and pressed soft kisses up her cheek to her swollen lips. He kissed her once, twice, three times before lifting his head to look at her.

She grinned up at him, running her fingers through his hair and using her nails the way she knew he liked. After she tucked his hair behind his ear, Jax rolled to his back, pulling her with him.

Her ear pressed against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. There was no sound that could better comfort her. Jax's hand found hers after he pulled the blankets over their lower halves. Their fingers interlocked and he rested their clasped hands on his stomach.

"I love you," Tara whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his chest.

Keeping his eyes closed, he smiled, "Love you, too."

She shifted to rest her chin on his chest so she could look up at him. "So, how was your birthday? Everything you hoped your sweet sixteen would be?

Jax laughed, "Oh, I'd say it was the best birthday I've ever had."

"Really?" she arched an eyebrow before straddling his waist. "Well it's only four o'clock. We've still got a good solid eight hours before your birthday is over."

"Bring it on, baby," he replied suavely. His hands gripped each of her hips as she lowered her mouth meet his once again, pulling the covers up over them.

* * *

**I love the idea that Jax and Tara lost their virginities to each other. Not sure if it's true but I think it would make sense.**

**And yes, I know, I'm a little rusty with mature scenes, so cut me some slack!**


	4. 1995

_**SO**_** excited for the new SOA episode! I hope we get some more Jax/Tara action than we've been getting lately. Maybe another hot bathroom sex scene? They keep doing shower scenes at Jax's house but never follow through with it! Gah those teases.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned SOA, Half-Sack would still be around, Abel would be safe and sound, and Jax would propose to Tara already. …Damn, looks like I don't own it.**

* * *

**1995 – 17**

Tara jumped as the front door was shoved open. Glancing back down at the trigonometry homework she was working on, she got up from the desk in her room and headed towards the living room.

"Jeez, would it kill you to be a little more careful?" she started, but froze in her tracks when she saw her father wasn't the only one in the house. "Oh, hi Bruce."

Bruce, her father's old friend and favorite drinking buddy, was the kind of guy who liked to perv on his friends' seventeen year old daughters. Tara instinctively crossed her arms as the man continued to leer at her.

"Hiya Tara," he greeted with a slight slur to his words. Great, now she would have to deal with _two_ drunks tonight. "You look more like your mother every day."

Her dad stepped past Bruce, heading to the bathroom to grab some towels. There was a hard thunderstorm going on that night and both of the men had gotten soaked coming in from the car. He didn't seem to mind the way he was dripping water all over the linoleum floors; Tara knew she'd be the one cleaning them up later anyway.

"You're in high school now, aren't ya?" Bruce asked once her dad was down the hall, staring at parts of her body definitely lower than her eyes.

"Er, yeah, I'm a junior this year."

"Damn it, Tara, what happened to all the other towels? I can only find these two," her dad snapped, tossing one at Bruce and using the other to dry his own hair.

"I haven't had a chance to do laundry yet this week, Dad. I had two tests and—"

"Whatever," he interrupted, leading Bruce to the kitchen. "Bruce is crashing here tonight, cause of the storm and all."

She said nothing as she returned to her bedroom. _Sure, the storm. If by 'storm' you mean 'bottle of whiskey I know you've already tapped into by now,'_ she thought to herself.

A few minutes later the muffled sounds of the TV blaring were heard through her door. Tara sighed, reaching over to her boom box to turn the volume up a little higher of her R.E.M. CD. Already an expert on her father's drunken nights, she waited for the TV and the shouting to quiet down and around eleven she was sure they had passed out.

Around midnight she woke up to the floorboards creaking. Her eyes shot open but she didn't move, instead keeping her gaze trained on her doorknob.

Sure enough, the knob turned and a large figure appeared in the doorway. She was sure her dad was passed out in the bedroom, which meant that this was Bruce. He'd always hit on her when he'd crashed at their place in the past, but he'd never acted past making comments and ogling her occasionally.

Her heart pounded as he stumbled closer, mumbling to himself under his breath. As a hand reached towards her, she flicked her bedside light on and grabbed the pocket knife she kept under her pillow.

She'd scoffed at first when Jax had given her the knife after she'd told him about her home life, but now she was thankful she'd listened to him. Bruce winced at the bright light, then his eyes trained on the blade pointed at him.

"Get out," she said in a low voice, hoping he would take her seriously.

Apparently luck wasn't on her side tonight.

"Tara," Bruce crooned, moving to sit next to her on the bed. She tensed, keeping the blade aimed in his direction. "Come on, let's be friends."

He set his hand on her shoulder, rubbing the skin beneath her thin tank top strap. "Don't you want to be friends?" he whispered in her ear.

"Stay the hell away from me!" she screamed, swiping at his hand. Bruce yelped as the blade sliced the space between his thumb and forefinger.

"You little bitch!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" her dad bellowed, turning on the light to see Bruce clutching his bloody hand.

"He came on to me," she insisted, praying her father would believe her.

"That's not what happened," Bruce continued, stepping towards her dad. "I was trying to find the bathroom and accidentally went into Tara's room. She stabbed me with her little boy scout knife!"

Tara's stomach felt like it had bottomed out when her dad turned his angry gaze on to her. Not giving him a change to yell at her, she bolted for her only exit—her bedroom window. Her dad tried to grab at her but only snagged her tank top strap, tearing the fabric with a snap.

She screamed as she hoisted herself over the windowsill. Rain water sprayed in her face but she continued throwing herself out the window. Her dad grabbed her bare foot so she kicked him in the jaw, knocking him back. She landed face first in the grass, not bothering to brush herself off as she took off towards the direction of Jax's new house.

"Tara!" she could hear her dad yelling out the window. "Don't you come back! Ever!"

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the freezing rain water. Her bare feet felt like blocks of ice and throbbed from the gravel in the streets, but she never stopped running. Jax lived only about ten minutes away, but in the moment it felt like she'd been running for hours before his house finally came into view.

The lights were all out. Of course they were, it was nearly twelve-thirty in the morning.

She knew which bedroom was Jax's. Heading to the side of the house, Tara picked up a rock and threw it at his window. She waited for a minute and when he didn't come to the window, she figured he hadn't heard her over the storm.

Deciding she had no other option, she headed to the front door and rang the doorbell. Gemma and Clay answered the door, opening it wide to let her in as soon as they saw her drenched form. Clay went to go wake Jax while Gemma wrapped an arm around Tara's shoulders. When Gemma pressed a kiss to her soaked hair, Tara felt herself unravel.

The tears began flooding down her cheeks once more as Jax jumped down the stairs wearing only a pair of sweatpants. He rushed to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders while Gemma led them into the dining area.

"What happened sweetheart?" she asked, sitting next to Clay across from Jax and Tara at the table.

Tara scrubbed at her face, sniffling a little as she struggled to calm her breathing. "My dad's friend crashed at our place. They were drunk."

"Tara," Jax said sternly, fingering the torn strap of her top. "What else happened?"

She glanced up at him before her shoulders began to shake again. "H-He came into my room…"

Gemma and Clay glanced at each other worriedly. Jax slammed his hand on the table and stood quickly, obviously intending to head back to her house and do God knows what. She grabbed at his arm, seeking out his warm hand.

"Jax, please," she whispered. "I already got him."

Everyone turned to her in surprise. "I sliced him with that knife you gave me before he could touch me," she explained, suddenly embarrassed.

Jax's eyes shone with pride and amusement as he looked at her, sitting back down beside her. His thumb rubbed her palm, his other hand coming up to rest at the nape of her neck.

"Why don't you stay here for the night," Clay offered, his smile unusually soft for his gruff face. Tara sniffled and smiled in thanks as she wiped her cheeks dry.

"Do you want us to call someone?" Gemma asked quietly. "About your dad?"

Tara shook her head. "I'm almost eighteen and then I'll be done with him. He's not around much anyway."

Gemma pursed her lips at the girl, obviously not buying it.

"It's not usually this bad," she tried instead. "It's just…Bruce."

"Bruce?"

"My dad's friend. He's always hitting on me and staring at me," she explained. "I hate it."

"What's Bruce's last name?" Clay asked, his eyes meeting with Jax's knowingly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I can find out though."

"Don't worry about it, honey," Clay assured her, standing up and patting her on the head. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes."

"You can borrow some of my stuff," Jax offered, leading her to the stairs.

Gemma pulled Tara into a hug. "You ever have any trouble and you come right over here, sweetie. No questions asked, our door will always be open."

Tara leaned into the older woman's embrace, letting herself remember her own mother's hugs for a moment before pulling away. "Thanks Gemma. That means a lot."

She smiled up at Clay as Jax took her hand in his and they started up to his bedroom.

"I'll call the school in the morning and tell them you won't be coming in tomorrow. You've been through enough, baby," Gemma told them, wrapping her robe tighter around herself.

"Go ahead and sleep in tomorrow," Clay added.

Tara said goodnight to them and suddenly felt exhausted as she and Jax made their way into his bedroom. He found her a pair of flannel pajama pants and a worn SAMCRO T-shirt.

"My mom said she'll wash your clothes for you," he told her, taking the water-logged pile of clothing from her. He left to give them to Gemma and Tara sat down at the foot of his bed in a daze.

"You okay?" he asked quietly when he returned. Snapping out of it, Tara smiled at him as he sat down next to her.

She nodded. "You're lucky to have such good parents, Jax."

He laughed into her hair, "They're not so bad."

"I'm serious," she rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling into his warmth. "I'd give anything to have someone care about me like Clay and Gemma do for you."

Jax was quiet for a moment, reflecting, before he tightened his arms around her. "You do. You have me."

Tara grinned, lifting her head to press a loving kiss to his lips. "You're right. I love you, Jax Teller."

"Love you too, babe," he whispered, kissing her again. Their tongues met briefly and then Jax gentled it again, knowing Tara was probably seconds from passing out after the night she'd had. He helped her scoot up the bed and then lifted the covers over them.

Tara sighed as she rested her head on his chest, enjoying how safe she felt with his arms wrapped around her. He pressed a kiss to her hair and then turned out the light next to his bed.

Her eyelids grew heavy and as Tara drifted to sleep, her last thoughts were how she'd never felt safer than when she was in Jax's arms. She knew, with undying certainty, that this was where she belonged.

* * *

**A little more serious this time. I couldn't get the idea of Tara running to Jax's house for help in the middle of the night out of my head. I know Gemma was cold to Tara in the beginning of the show, but I think that's because she loved Tara so much before she left. I can really see Gemma as being the kind of woman who was fiercely protective of Tara when she was younger.**


	5. 1995, part 2

**Thank you for such lovely feedback. You guys are great!**

* * *

**1995 – 17**

Tara was standing in a circle of friends outside of school when she saw him. One of her friends was in the middle of a story when Tara just walked away from them wordlessly. Curious, the girls turned and followed her gaze. They saw who she was heading towards and all looked at each other knowingly.

While Donna may have easily accepted Tara's dangerous boyfriend, their other friends weren't so quick to.

She didn't pay her girlfriends any attention, though. Just focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she took in Jax's appearance. His lip was split and he had one hell of a shiner coming in on his left eye. Underneath his bulky cut and sweatshirt she spotted white bandaging wrapped around his hand. Opie, who was walking next to him, didn't look much better.

He saw the look on her face and muttered something to Opie before she reached them. Her eyes scanned his clothing for blood or tears but he obviously changed before coming to school that morning, as his clothes were perfectly clean and intact.

"Don't freak out," he started. She surprised everyone—herself included—when she threw her arms around him. After a moment, Jax returned the embrace, tentatively pressing his hands against her lower back and drawing her close. Tara breathed in his scent that was uniquely Jax, allowing herself just the briefest moment of relief, before pulling back.

And slapping him hard across the face.

"Jesus, Tara!" Jax snapped after his head whipped to the side from the force of the slap. Her hand stung and as soon as she heard the loud clap of her palm meeting his cheek, she knew she'd probably hit him too hard, but it was too late to turn back now. Opie tried to hold back his laughter at the large red handprint appearing on Jax's left cheek.

"Jackson Teller you scared the shit out of me!" Tara shouted, balling her fists and glaring up at him. "I woke up at three in the morning to practically the entire police force racing down my street to God knows where because your _'club'_ was doing God knows what. Then, being the stupid, caring girlfriend that I am, I went to the shop to make sure you were alright—"

"Oh shit," Jax muttered. Opie, too, stilled at this.

"Yeah, 'oh shit,'" Tara continued. Now that her pent up fury had been unleashed, there was no reeling it back in. "Can you imagine what it was like for me to see my boyfriend's body being _carried_ into the clubhouse by two other men? I would have thought you were dead if I hadn't heard you laughing the entire way they were dragging your sorry asses inside."

Jax glanced over at Opie sheepishly. His lack of response only served to provoke her further.

"I don't know what exactly it is you guys do in that motorcycle club of yours—partly because I choose not to and partly because I know you'll never tell me. But if _this_—" she gestured with both hands to the obvious beatings both boys' bodies had taken—"is what the outcome is, then I don't know how much longer I can take this."

"Tara, come on," Jax reached for her but she brushed his hands away, shaking her head.

"_Don't_," she urged. She stepped back from them both, running a shaky hand through her hair. "I just…I need to go."

Tara turned around and jogged into the school, ignoring Jax calling after her. Unshed tears blurred her vision and it was all she could do to keep them from spilling over. Her friends, who'd obviously witnessed the entire thing, as had nearly half the school, tried reaching out to her but she was quick to brush past them. The last thing Tara needed was a group of girls who had no idea what it was like to be a SAMCRO woman. She wasn't even sure if Donna, who was dating SAMCRO's most recently inducted member, would understand what she was going through.

She needed…well, she didn't know what she needed. Part of her wanted answers, was dying to know what had happened last night that resulted in Jax and Opie's injuries.

But a bigger part of her said that she'd rather not know. That she wasn't ready to face the darker side of SAMCRO. She was only seventeen years old, how was she supposed to deal with something like this?

The first bell rang, shaking her from her thoughts. Tara sighed. She'd have to put all this on the back burner, for now. Her only chance of getting out of this godforsaken town was to get a scholarship to a good college, so she'd been putting all of her efforts into her classes in hopes that she'd make the top ten percentile of their class.

She didn't want to think about what that meant for her future with Jax. But, if she was being honest with herself, lately she wasn't sure if she even _had_ a future with him.

* * *

Tara had Study Hall at the end of the day, and while normally she would spend the hour finishing her homework, she found that her mind couldn't seem to stay focused today. After rereading the same sentence in her Economics textbook nearly a dozen times, she decided she needed to clear her mind.

She headed to the bathroom, thankful to find it empty when she walked in. It was times like these that she appreciated some good peace and quiet. The sound of running water always managed to calm her, so she twisted the taps, watching as steam began to rise up from the hot water.

Changing the temperature so it cooled down, Tara cupped the water in her hands and pressed her face into it. She sighed at the soothing warmth against her face, but it did little else to relax her.

The door opened and she slipped into a stall, not yet wanting to make contact with anyone. She locked the door and rested her forehead against it, hoping whoever had come in would be quick and leave her alone again.

"She hit him?" a girl was asking as she and her friend walked in, heading right for the sinks.

"Didn't you see his black eye?" the other girl answered. "That's probably where it came from."

Tara's heart skipped a beat as she realized the two girls were talking about her and Jax. She peeked through the crack in the stall door and scowled at who the girls were.

Dawn Appleton and Stacy Marsinco were probably the two easiest girls of the senior class. They'd certainly made their way through the guys the grade above Tara's and apparently their eyes were drifting to the junior class now.

"So did they break up?" Dawn asked, leaning over the sink to reapply her lip liner.

Stacy, who was busy teasing her faux-blonde hair, shrugged. "Couldn't tell. All I saw was her clobber the living daylights out of him, scream at him, and then storm off. He might still be on her leash."

Dawn turned to her friend, "But then, when has that ever stopped us?"

"True," Stacy smirked with mischief gleaming in her heavily lined eyes. She tilted her head in her friend's direction. "I call dibs."

Dawn scoffed, giving her a playful shove. "I don't think so! Jax Teller is a fine piece of eye candy. Plus he's got that whole 'rugged and dangerous' thing going on. I'm not gonna just let you have him, skank."

"Bitch!" Stacy joked. She crossed her arms, "Fine, may the best slut win." The girls laughed, bumping hips with each other, before making their way towards the door.

If it had been any other day, Tara may have just let it slide. She would have gritted her teeth and waited for the girls to leave the bathroom before taking a few deep breaths and returning to the library to finish her Econ homework.

Today, however, was not that day.

She swung the stall door open, narrowing her eyes when the girls turned around to see who'd been listening in on what they'd thought was a private conversation. Dawn smirked condescendingly at Tara, crossing her arms as the younger girl stormed towards them.

"Oh, hi Tara. We were just talking about you." She twirled a lock of her curly brown hair around her finger and winked.

Stacy tilted her head again, "So is it true you and Jax Teller broke up this morning? God, that's too bad."

"It's not really a surprise," Dawn added. Tara's jaw clenched. "The whole town knows you're just his charity case."

"That's really all mousy girls like you can hope for."

"I wonder if Jax rode his bike to school today, I could really use a _ride_." Something about Dawn's mocking smile made Tara want to wipe it right off her face.

She grabbed Dawn by the hair, ignoring the way she dug her fingernails into her arm, and shoved the girl face first into a mirror. Stacy shrieked as she watched her friend slide onto the ground, blood dribbling down her forehead and out of her nose. She turned to run for the door but Tara grabbed her by the back of the shirt and shoved her into a bathroom stall. By now Stacy was bawling, curled up against a toilet and Dawn had passed out.

As surprised as she was that she'd lost control like that, Tara couldn't help but admit that it had felt good to release all that pent up tension.

She stepped over the girls' dropped bags, before she reached for the door she turned on her heel. "Stay the hell away from my boyfriend," she snapped.

* * *

It didn't take long for word to spread about what happened. Someone had obviously found the girls in the bathroom and no doubt they were eager to tell the principle who'd done this to them.

Tara sighed from her desk in detention. Because she had no past offences aside from the occasional class skipping, the principle had been pretty lenient once Tara had explained how the girls provoked her. Still, she'd wound up with four weeks of detention and had to write the girls an apology letter.

She tried writing the letter several times, but could never get past anything that started like:

_Dear Stacy and Dawn, I'm sorry you're such disgusting whores that you have to prey on other girls' boyfriends to find one of your own…_

It would probably take all four weeks for her to finally be able to write something at least resembling a sincere apology.

Resting her chin in her hand, she took a look around the detention room. At least three of the guys in the room spent more time _in_ detention than they did out. The others, she figured, were there for petty crimes like talking back in class or cheating on someone's test. There was one other girl, but she looked too high on whatever she was taking to even know what day it was, so Tara stayed clear of her.

The door opened and she was surprised to see Opie walk in. He winked at her as he went over to the teacher at the front of the room. She put down her worn out romance novel and looked up at him.

"What's going on, Opie?"

"I think someone set off a stink bomb in the hallway," Opie said in a tone of voice that Tara couldn't help but think sounded a little rehearsed.

The teacher straightened in her chair. "Really? What makes you think—"

Suddenly the putrid scent of rotten eggs drifted into the classroom. Tara scrunched her nose and tucked her face into the collar of her sweatshirt.

"Oh, my word!" The older woman rushed into the hall with Opie following in tow. Some of the students got up to watch the commotion but as Tara stood to follow, she saw a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye.

Turning around, she saw Jax's head poking in one of the windows.

"Jax?" she glanced behind her to make sure the detention teacher was still occupied, then walked over to him. "Were you behind this?"

He grinned up at her, his smile slightly lopsided because of the split lip, "I may have had something to do with it. Now come on, before the old bat notices."

Tara watched as he pulled away from the window, reaching to release the screen and pulling it aside so she could slip through. She grabbed her bag and climbed out, helping him replace the screen and then following him to where he'd parked his motorcycle.

They rode to a small beach that was only known by the locals but rarely used now that the weather had cooled down. While Jax parked his bike, Tara walked down to the edge of the shore and sat, poking at the wet sand with a stick she found.

"So," Jax started when he plopped down next to her. "You gonna tell me what you did to land you in detention? We've known each other since we were kids, I've never heard of you getting in trouble like that before."

Tara sighed, trying to figure out the best way to explain things to him before deciding she would just have to tell the truth. "You know those seniors, Stacy and Dawn?"

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards but he very wisely said nothing, choosing to nod instead.

"Well, I was in the bathroom today and I heard them talking about you…"

"Me?" She smacked his arm; she could just about _see_ his ego inflating at that news.

"Yes, you. Apparently Stacy—and about half the school—saw us arguing this morning. She and Dawn started talking about wanting to get with you and—"

"Wait a minute," Jax cut in, grabbing Tara's elbow and giving her a goofy grin. "This doesn't have anything to do with a rumor I heard about those two being sent to the hospital with concussions, does it?"

She remained silent long enough that Jax had his answer. He started cracking up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Oh baby, that's priceless."

"They had it coming," Tara mumbled, hiding her face in his neck. "I smashed Dawn's face in the mirror."

"I'm sure that felt good," Jax said with a good-natured tone. Tara found she was actually relieved he wasn't more upset about how she'd acted. She'd forgotten that one of the benefits of being involved in SAMCRO was you weren't so sensitive towards this kind of thing. In fact, Jax almost seemed amused by it.

"It _was_ a nice release of frustration," she admitted. That caused him to tense and they pulled away, knowing the conversation had changed.

"Look," he started, "I'm sorry for scaring you like that. And it wasn't fair to you to make you find out about what happened like that in front of the whole school."

They were both staring out at the lake, the serene atmosphere doing little to relax the situation. Tara gave up on doodling in the sand and chucked the stick into the water.

"It's okay," she said quietly. "I was just…worried about you. I can't stand seeing you like that."

"You knew when we started hanging out what my life was like. You knew what you were getting into when you got with me," Jax pointed out. His tone was neither accusatory nor apologetic, just stating the facts.

She nodded, "You're right. I've known since I was little what SAMCRO was about. I think…I think I was just shocked when I saw you last night. I always knew what you and Opie were up to with the MC, but I've never actually _seen_ it before, you know? Seeing it firsthand is different than knowing about it in the back of your mind."

"There are going to be times when I come back from a run pretty roughed up," he warned. "You'll have to be prepared for that. You have to be okay with that."

"I'll never be okay with standing by while you risk your life," Tara admitted, grabbing his hand and threading her fingers through his. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand, then pulled it towards her so she could press a kiss to it. "But I'll try to be a little more understanding from now on."

He beamed at her and pressed his forehead against hers, "That's all I'm asking for, babe."

She leaned forward and kissed him, enjoying the taste of his mouth against hers. They grinned at each other when they pulled away. Jax wrapped his arms around her and they sat in content silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company and watching the scenery around them.

"So," Jax broke the silence, his tone of voice teasing. He rolled on top of her and braced his arms on either side of her head. "You're turning into a tough guy, huh?"

"Yeah, you must be rubbing off on me, Teller."

"Hm, I like rubbing off on you, Knowles," he followed his words by grinding against her thigh. Tara giggled, throwing sand in his face and rolling out from under him.

"You'll have to catch me first!" she called, getting up onto her feet and dashing away from him. Jax gave chase and ran after her, grabbing her occasionally or stealing a kiss before letting her get away, only to chase after her once more. Eventually he lifted her by the waist, sending her legs flying into the air as he lifted her with ease. Their breaths puffed out in little clouds but neither noticed as their laughter rang out in the cold autumn air, and all was well again.

* * *

**Some may say this is out of character for Tara, but I'm going off a line she says in episode 2.03 "Fix", where the porn star Ima keeps flirting with Jax and Gemma tells Tara she needs to teach the other girls that Jax is hers. Tara tells her that her cat fighting days are over because she's grown up, even though she tries to confront Ima later and kind of fails at it. She gets back at the hoe though by sexing it up with Jax in the bathroom and giving her this cute, naughty, 'I told you so' smirk when Ima walks in on them in the middle of it—which, in my personal opinion, is a **_**much**_** better way of teaching skanks that your man is off limits.**

**Anyway, the point is I wanted to do a scene that showed what Tara's cat fighting days may have looked like. Hope you enjoyed it!**


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